Chapter 382 I Will Not Agree
Just as Seraphina went to open the door, Elizabeth had already put on a mask. They were still in the evaluation phase with Stefan and couldn't let him recognize them.
Elizabeth occasionally attended company events in previous years, so they couldn't guarantee that photos of her hadn't been seen by the Hensley family.
Timothy, on the other hand, hadn't appeared in public for over a decade, so he didn't need to wear a mask.
"Mom, Dad, this is Stefan, and these are Stefan's parents," Seraphina introduced.
Elizabeth smiled and stood up. "Mr. Hensley, Mrs. Hensley, please have a seat."
Her voice was hoarse, which made the Hensley family assume Elizabeth was sick and that's why she was wearing a mask.
Stefan was a bit nervous at this moment. "Hello, I'm Dione's boyfriend, Stefan."
Elizabeth smiled and invited them to sit down.
In the brief time since entering, Kennedy had already sized up Elizabeth and Timothy, as well as the house.
Elizabeth and Timothy seemed to have decent presence.
Kennedy's gaze then fell on Brandon sitting on the sofa. Brandon was happily munching on bread with his little white teeth showing.
It was just bread, yet Brandon was eating it so happily, as if it were some delicious delicacy. Was this family's financial situation perhaps not so good?
Seraphina poured tea for the guests and obediently sat down next to Elizabeth.
Stefan took the initiative to introduce himself. "I'm from Majestic City. My family is mainly in the jewelry business. The Hensley family is quite well-known in Majestic City."
Seraphina looked at Stefan with confusion. Jewelry business?
Seeing Seraphina's confused expression, Stefan cleared his throat and explained, "Dione, I didn't mean to hide it from you. I wanted to wait until our relationship was stable before telling you."
Since Seraphina was also hiding her own identity, she nodded generously after hearing Stefan's explanation and showed an understanding smile.
Seraphina and Stefan looked at each other with affection in their eyes.
Timothy cleared his throat, interrupting their gaze.
Timothy's deep eyes fixed on Stefan. "You're from Majestic City. Will you be going back to Majestic City to develop your career?"
Stefan nodded. "Yes."
Kennedy smiled. "Stefan will inherit the Hensley Group in the future, so he can't possibly stay in Border Ridge City. If Dione marries Stefan in the future, I hope she can stay home to raise children and learn social etiquette."
Stefan's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect Kennedy to say such things.
He turned to look at Kennedy. "Mom, Dione can do whatever she wants. I have no intention of making her stay at home. Dione has her own career and aspirations, and I will respect her choices."
Elizabeth held Timothy's hand, calming him down. Elizabeth's cool eyes looked at Kennedy. "Mrs. Hensley, my daughter will not stay home to raise children. She has her own career."
What kind of person says such things so shamelessly!
The parents had barely met, and there was already tension in the air.
Seeing Stefan directly contradict her, Kennedy's expression soured. Combined with what Elizabeth just said, Kennedy was clearly displeased with Elizabeth's attitude.
Damon quickly stepped in to ease the atmosphere with a smile. "Mrs. Penrose."
"Sorry, I'm not Mrs. Penrose. Please call me Mrs. Robinson. My daughter has my last name," Elizabeth explained.
"My apologies," Damon said gently. "Mrs. Robinson, we won't interfere with the young couple's married life."
Elizabeth nodded. At least Damon seemed to have some sense.
Kennedy came today deliberately to cause trouble. Stefan absolutely could not marry Dione.
Kennedy took out a purple box from her bag.
Seeing Kennedy take out the purple box, Damon's brow twitched. Kennedy had planned this—she came to cause trouble.
It was too late for him to stop her.
"Dione, thank you for giving me this expensive necklace as a gift yesterday. Where did you buy this necklace? How much did it cost?" Kennedy looked at Seraphina with a smile, asking gently.
Stefan didn't expect Kennedy to continue making trouble.
He could probably guess that Timothy and Elizabeth would definitely be dissatisfied with him now.
He took a deep breath.
Stefan stood up and bowed. "I'm sorry, I'll take my parents and leave now. We've disturbed you today."
Kennedy kept staring at Seraphina's expression. "Wait until Dione answers my question, then I'll leave."
Seeing Kennedy take out the purple box and hearing her question, Seraphina's eyes were full of confusion. "Mrs. Hensley, this necklace was bought at an auction. I don't know the price, you'd have to ask..."
Before Seraphina could finish, she was interrupted.
"At least you're honest. You had Stefan buy the gift for you to give to me. Aren't you being too vain? You should only do what you're capable of. Your family's situation is what it is—why lie because of vanity?" Kennedy said critically.
Seraphina and Elizabeth exchanged glances.
So this Mrs. Hensley had misunderstood.
Stefan really felt Kennedy was saying increasingly strange things. He tried to stay calm and said, "Mom, I didn't buy this gift for Dione."
Kennedy obviously didn't believe him and scoffed. "If you didn't buy it, did she buy it herself? Would she spend tens of millions of dollars on a necklace to give to me? Look at her—she didn't even know the price of the necklace just now. Don't try to fool me."
Although Stefan was surprised by the necklace's price, he just wanted to take Kennedy away first.
He knew Kennedy was deliberately making a scene this time.
He apologized to Elizabeth and the others once again.
"Dad, let's go." After Stefan finished speaking, he walked out first.
Damon sighed inwardly. He also apologized to Timothy and the others, then looked at Seraphina. "Dione, the Hensley family was rude today. Another day, I'll have Stefan come personally to apologize to you."
Seeing that Damon and Stefan had both left, Kennedy followed them out. Before leaving, she said generously, "Dione, I'm giving the necklace back to you."
After the Hensley family left.
The first thing Timothy said was, "I will not agree to you marrying into the Hensley family."